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If you want to work on automotive surfaces (_meta_ls, plastics, fiberglass, etc.), there are probably three basic types of paint you can use: Enamels, acrylics and lacquers. Enamels are typically thinned with paint thinner, alcohol or acetone. Acrylics are thinned with water. Lacquers are thinned with lacquer thinner.
I'd suggest buying paint kits from House of Kolor, Alsa, Createx or others where the paint manufacturer has catered to the airbrush artist. You will probably get the best results from these types of paints. However, if your budget doesn't allow for these, or you just want to dabble, Rust-oleum paints actually work pretty well on just about any surface. I'm talking here about the type in a can for brushing on, not the spray type.
The biggest problem you'll probably run into is thinning the Rust-oleum paint to the correct consistency to go through an airbrush. For Rust-oleum, where the manufacturer doesn't specify how to thin it to go through an airbrush, so here is what I do. In a small 2 oz. or 4 oz. mixing cup, I fill it about half way with paint. Then I add acetone until it fills the cup to about 3/4 full. Then I add regular paint thinner until the cup is full. I mix this until the thinners are completely mixed throughout. I then transfer some of the mix into another cup. From here, I can thin more if needed. Most of the time, this mix works very well as an opaque paint. To tell if the paint is going to be thin enough, dip your stirring implement into the paint. Then, pull the stirrer out and immediately touch it on the side of the mixing cup. If the paint runs down the side with about the same consistency as milk might flow, your have the right mix. If it flows faster or slower, you might have to add more paint or more thinner as needed. To make this mix more transparent, you can thin a little more, which is why I end up using two paint cups. I get a _base_ mix, and then can thin more as needed without ruining the whole mix I started with.
Now, here is the reason for using both types of thinners. the Rust-oleum manufacture suggests using acetone on the can label. This is good if you want the paint to dry really fast. Acetone evaporates pretty quickly and will allow the paint to dry more quickly. The problem here is that it will then dry too quickly as it is leaving the airbrush. It will then cause paint to dry on the needle too fast. This will definitely cause problems. By thinning partially with a bit of regular paint thinner, you slow the drying time just enough to allow it to flow off the airbrush needle, yet dry quickly enough on your artwork surface to work with.
The other paint manufacturers I mention above all have their own mixing requirements, as well some having their own thinners that you should use. Check with the manufacturer for their info.
On your artwork surface, you can mix acrylics with enamels, or mix acrylics with lacquers, but you can't necessarily mix enamels with lacquers in some instances. For instance, you could do your artwork with an acrylic and clear over with enamel. Likewise, you can do your artwork with acrylics and clear with a lacquer. You can't do your artwork with enamel and then clear with a lacquer. However, you could do your artwork with lacquer, and if then allowed to dry fully, you could clear with enamel. Your best bet is to use the same type of clear as the artwork paint. This way you won't run into any issues.
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